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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. land — a country
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. season — in sport
  8. march — the month
  9. present — the time now
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. land — ground
  12. present — there
  13. ball — a dance
  14. row — a line
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. march — the month
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. present — a gift
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. march — music
  23. date — the fruit
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com